1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool for attaching and removing a t-post clip to and from a metal t-type fence post or t-post in order to secure fence wire to the t-post and remove fence wire from the t-post.
2. Description of the Related Art
Farmers and ranchers in building fences to surround their fields often use metal t-type fence posts. Metal posts are employed because they are strong and will not deteriorate as quickly as traditional wooden fence posts.
Metal t-post clips are used to secure fence wire to the metal t-posts in order to create a fence with these metal t-posts. These metal t-post clips are short pieces of wire having a first end provided with a hook formed therein and having an opposite second end that is curved. In order to secure fence wire to a metal t-post with a t-post clip, the hook on the first end of the t-post clip is placed around the fence wire that is to be secured to the t-post. Then the curved end of the clip is pulled behind the post and back to the front of the post on the opposite side where it is then hooked to the fence wire which is positioned between raised bumps provided on the front side of the t-post. In order to secure the clip around the fence wire, the curved end of the clip is normally grasped by a pair of pliers and twisted around the fence wire so that the clip will not come loose from the fence wire. The person installing the t-clip may also then grasp the hook end of the clip with the pliers and also twist the hook end around the fence wire to make sure this end of the clip will not come loose from the fence wire.
In order to remove the fence wire from the t-post, this procedure is reversed, with the user again grasping the end of the t-clip previously twisted with pliers and bending the clip in the opposite direction to remove the clip from the fence wire and t-post.
The problem with this procedure is that the person who is building the fence will normally be wearing work gloves and it is difficult to handle a pair of pliers with gloves on. Thus, the workman who is building the fence must either try to awkwardly use the pliers with his gloves on or must constantly be taking his gloves on and off. The present invention solves this problem by providing a tool that does not require the user to grasp a pair of handles, such as found on pliers, but instead has only a single fixed handle that can be easily grasp by a gloved hand. The tool is provided with teeth that can be made to engage the clip easily and can be used by someone who is wearing gloves to easily and quickly secure a clip to fence wire around a t-post or to remove a clip therefrom.